Abstract

INTRODUCTIONAlmost all plants contain chemical defenses that play a variety of ecological roles in defense against herbivores and pathogens. Among them, tannins have historically received a great deal of attention; these polyphenolic compounds deter herbivore feeding through two principal effects: (1) making food unpalatable due their astringent and bitter taste (Horne, Hayes, & Lawles, ), and b) binding dietary proteins and digestive enzymes reducing food digestibility (Austin, Suchar, Robbins, & Hagerman, ; Moore, Andrew, Külheim, & Foley, ; Robbins, Hanley et al., ).Although tannins may be present in most of the foods of herbivorous primates (Glander, ), we know little about how and in what extent these compounds impact primate feeding behavior. For many years researchers have explored the relationship between food choice and the concentration of tannins (both condensed and hydrolysable) of wild leaf‐eating primates; however, results remain conflicting and conclusions unclear in many cases. Field investigations in Colobines (which are the most extensively studied leaf‐eating primates with respect to the chemical content of their food) have shown that tannins inhibit feeding in several species including black and white colobus Colobus guereza (Oates, Swain, & Zantovska, ), black colobus Colobus satanas (McKey, Glasgow, Gartlan, Waterman, & Choo, ),

Journal

American Journal of Primatology
– Wiley

Published: Jan 1, 2018

Keywords: ; ; ; ;

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References

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Austin, P. J.; Suchar, L. A.; Robbins, C. T.; Hagerman, A. E.

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